Nature Connection: Enjoying The Quiet

If you’re an early riser like I am, you know that the morning light is rising from the horizon a little later each dawn. Just a few weeks ago the sky was streaked with light around 4:30 a.m. and the air was filled with birdsong. There was no doubt that day had begun. It is after 5 a.m. now that the sky gives up some darkness, and the air outside my door is quieter.

A few birds still greet the morning with a bit of song but none of the lusty, territorial gusto they were filled with a while ago. I step outside my backdoor each morning and listen for the song sparrow, usually the first to sing. Then a cardinal may join in, and after that a mockingbird. A crow may caw, a blue jay may call out, but it’s pretty quiet out there.

For many of our resident and summer songbirds, nesting season has come to a close. A few are already sitting on the last nest of the season but many, like the orioles and hummingbirds, are done for the season.

Birds that migrate often finish nesting before summer is half over. They must bulk up for their long journeys south, and this takes a lot of energy and concentration. Young birds that were recently being fed and raising a ruckus have mostly settled down to feeding and practicing the various skills they will need as adults, such as evading predators, finding a good roost for the night, and generally staying out of trouble.

If you feed orioles and hummingbirds, you may have noticed that the orioles stopped coming to the feeder a while back. Many complain that hummingbirds are scarce at their feeders as well. These birds must now feed on energy rich foods such as insects so they will be ready for their long flights. You will still see some at your feeders, but you may see more in your gardens or in shrubs around your home. Adults of many species will leave shortly, and some may already have left.

Not all our summer friends will head south quite yet. Gray catbirds may still be nesting, and the pair in my yard is a bit insulted that I took down the oriole feeder a few weeks ago. I have a straggly raspberry patch that was mostly planted by birds and every year we look forward to picking at least enough to have with our cereal in the morning. As the raspberries ripen, we know we will lose some to the birds and squirrels, but this year the catbird that practically landed on my head while I put out fresh jelly wants to be sure I see him steal and eat the berries. I, of course, have no way to prove that’s what it’s doing, but it looks right in my studio window at me while enjoying its feast.

The cricket and grasshopper chorus will start soon, and at night the tree frog chorus has begun, though it will increase in volume over the next few weeks. On the hottest afternoons I hear the cicadas sing, a sound that will always take me back to being a child lying on my back under a tree on hot summer afternoons.

Mostly though, it’s pretty quiet out there. On a recent morning, I returned from an errand and as I walked across my yard, I was amazed at all the life around me. Bees, flies, wasps, butterflies, and several rabbits were busy in the gardens and lawn. The rabbits were performing important weed control and the insects were busy pollinating. There was a lot of activity, but I had to get very close to hear any sounds. There was a quiet buzz but nothing like the exuberance of birdsong.

One place that is not as quiet is the beach. Terns are finishing up their nesting, and if you know anything about terns you know they always seem to have plenty to say. Gulls are still raising their young in more private places, such as small islands just off the coast. If you visit a gull colony, you’ll hear plenty of noise. In fact, it can be quite loud and jarring. I often wonder how any of them can tell who is who with all that racket.

Nighttime may be the best time to go out and listen. There are the various frogs and toads, but you may also hear a mockingbird. Unmated birds may sing all night long, and I have to say I feel sorry for those guys. It’s like hearing that lonely spring peeper after all the spring racket is done.

At night you may hear coyote families yipping back and forth as young animals learn the ropes and still need contact with the adults and their siblings. Young owls may also be vocal.

If you hear animal screams at night, they do not come from a fisher. They may be the death screams of rabbits or other unfortunate prey, or they may be the screams of a red fox. Unsettling to be sure, but part of the natural order of things.

Summer seems to have just begun for many of us, but for the natural world, attention is now turned to preparing for the seasons ahead. We are entering a time of gathering, a time of harvest, a time of putting away food for leaner days. These things take attention and often attention needs quiet.

Your birds will be back soon enough. For now, they are busy. Enjoy the quiet of midsummer. It is a time of butterflies and dragonflies, of flowers and fruit, of silent magic all around us. It will vanish as quickly as it arrived.